The NFL may be heading toward its biggest schedule shift since the move to 17 games. New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft is now openly backing an 18-game regular season with only two preseason games, a change he believes could help the league expand internationally and put every team on a global stage each year.
But while owners see more revenue and worldwide growth, players are likely to see a tougher question: how much more can their bodies take?
Why an 18-game season feels closer
Momentum is building because the business case is straightforward, and the league has already crossed the psychological threshold of expanding the season. The NFL and NFLPA agreed to the current 17-game format starting in 2021, proving that a long-standing structure can change when the labor deal allows it. Since then, new media contracts and a more aggressive international strategy have amplified the value of additional inventory.
Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports recently wrote that an 18-game regular season is likely to be part of the next collective bargaining agreement. In his view, the timing is not immediate, but he framed it as an “eventuality” within the next few years of negotiations. Any move would require formal agreement with the players, and that is where the hard details will be decided.
Owners see more inventory
For team owners, an extra regular-season week is a rare lever that can lift multiple revenue lines at once. More games mean more broadcast windows, more national inventory for advertisers, and another week of local economic activity tied to home dates. Even with revenue sharing and league-wide distribution, the overall pie gets bigger when the schedule adds a premium product.
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft argued in a Vanity Fair interview that 18 regular-season games paired with two preseason games could help fuel global growth. Kraft also tied the idea to a much larger slate of international games, aiming for every team to play abroad each year. His pitch is that a bigger international footprint fits a modern audience that increasingly finds the NFL through streaming.
Players focus on health
Players have been wary of adding games because football’s injury risk is not theoretical, and the wear accumulates fast. The move to 17 games was controversial among many veterans, partly because one additional week can affect recovery, contract incentives, and career longevity. An 18th game would intensify the same arguments, especially for positions that absorb high-contact snaps.
The negotiation will likely center on what protections and compensation mechanisms come with the added burden. That can include changes like expanded rosters, adjusted practice rules, additional benefits, and more meaningful offseason and in-season recovery provisions. Even if overall league revenue rises, players typically want specific guarantees that the added risk is matched by tangible improvements.
Fun fact: The 2026 NFL international slate is the league’s largest ever: nine games across four continents, seven countries, and eight stadiums.
A longer season calendar
An 18-game schedule is not just an extra matchup, because it changes the rhythm of the entire season. Right now, the NFL plays 17 games over 18 weeks, with one bye per team, followed by a postseason that runs into February. Adding one more game raises the question of whether the league also adds another bye week to reduce strain and maintain game quality.
One commonly discussed framework is reducing the preseason again, from three games to two, and pairing that with a second bye week. That approach would aim to keep the total number of weeks manageable while still giving players more recovery time. It could also push key dates later on the calendar, including the Super Bowl, depending on how the league structures those additional weeks.
International games take priority
International expansion has become a core part of the NFL’s long-term growth plan, and schedule design is one way to accelerate it. Kraft’s suggestion of “16 international games” would represent a major escalation from the current model, which features a limited number of overseas regular-season games each year. The league has hosted regular-season games in places like London, Mexico City, Munich, and Frankfurt, and it continues to add new markets and partners.
More international games create logistical questions that the league would need to solve alongside any 18-game plan. Travel demands affect recovery, and competitive balance concerns rise when some teams face multiple long trips while others do not. If the NFL aims for every team to play each season internationally, it would need scheduling rules that spread travel fairly and protect turnaround time.
Little-known fact: The NFL expanded the regular season to 17 games beginning in 2021, while reducing the preseason from four games to three.
What happens in bargaining
The real decision point is collective bargaining, not owner interviews or media projections. The current NFL-NFLPA labor agreement runs through the 2030 season, with an option for the deal to be terminated early under specific notice rules, which is why timelines vary in public speculation. The league has also shown it can make significant changes within an existing framework if both sides see a path to agreement.
Economically, an extra regular-season game is valuable enough that both sides have reason to negotiate, even if they start far apart. Jones speculated that the combination of an 18th game and more international inventory could add roughly $1 billion in annual revenue, though that figure is not an official league estimate. The key question is what the NFLPA would demand in return, and whether the league will accept structural changes that meaningfully reduce the added physical cost.
TL;DR
- The NFL expanded to 17 regular-season games in 2021, and an 18-game format is increasingly being discussed as a future bargaining outcome.
- CBS Sports reporter Jonathan Jones wrote that an 18th game is likely in the next CBA, with timing still uncertain.
- Patriots owner Robert Kraft said 18 games could support a bigger international schedule and streaming-driven growth.
- Players’ biggest objections center on health, cumulative wear, and what protections and compensation come with more games.
- A likely framework discussed around the league is two preseason games and a second bye week, though nothing is finalized.
- The outcome hinges on NFL-NFLPA negotiations, not unilateral league action.
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This article was made with AI assistance and human editing.
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